THE PRESIDENT: Thank you
all. Thank you very much. Please be
seated. Bienvenidos. (Applause.) Here's
the way I like to put it: mi casa blanca es su casa
blanca. (Laughter and applause.)

We're gathered here to celebrate the
contributions of Hispanic Americans to our life. In a few
moments, I will sign an executive order creating a commission on
educational excellence for Hispanic Americans, to open new doors of
opportunity for Hispanic boys and girls all across America.

Before I do, I have some
thanks. First, I want to thank mi abogado y tambien mi
amigo. I want to thank Judge Gonzales for his sound
advice. I love him dearly. (Applause.)

I want to thank the boys and girls for
leading us in the Pledge. Thank you all for being
here. (Applause.)

I don't know whether you know this or not,
but 52 million other children joined us at 2:00 p.m. today, saying the
Pledge of Allegiance, all across America. The past weeks
have given new meaning to those old words, and have only deepened our
allegiance to our nation and to our flag.

I want to thank Jaci and Arturo for
lending their voice and horn to this room. We've had some
great music here throughout the years and it's going to be hard to top
what we heard today. I want to thank them both for
coming. I want to thank all los voces Americanos that sang
today. I am honored that you all are here. I love
your music. I love your passion. I love your love
for America. And we're glad you're here.

And I'm glad America got to see some of
our country's finest artists preform here in the East Room, on a song
that talks about the solidarity and love for our country; a love that
knows no bounds, a love that knows no culture, a love that everybody
can share, who's lucky enough to live in America. And you
all are welcome. Thank you for
coming. (Applause.)

I want to thank Emilio, especially, for
lending your talents. The last time you were here was Cinco
de Mayo. I said, the next time you come, make sure you bring
Gloria. (Laughter.) It just goes to show the
power of the Presidency. (Laughter.) I want to
thank Luis Palau as well, for your prayer. And I want to
thank Don Francisco, as well. It's good to see you again,
sir. Thank you for coming.

I'm proud that there's dos embajadores
aqui, uno de Mexico -- good to see you Ambassador -- Juan Jose Bremer
from Mexico, y tambien -- (applause) -- y tambien el embajador de
Espana esta aqui, Javier -- bienvenidos,
Javier. (Applause.) I should have said there was
three Ambassadors. I meant, two Ambassadors to America, but
one of -- a friend of mine, I named the Ambassador to the Dominican
Republic has joined us, Hans Hertel. Hans, good to see you,
Hans.

I named a person who participated in
Operation Pedro Pan. For those of you who don't know
Operation Pedro Pan, years ago, Cuban moms and dads put their sons or
daughters on a boat to America, in order that they could live
freely. They were uncertain about their own fate, but they
knew they wanted their children to grow up in America, one of whom is
now here. He's in my Cabinet, Mel
Martinez. (Applause.)

I named a good man to be on the U.S. Court
of Appeals, the D.C. Circuit, a man named Miguel
Estrada. Miguel, where are you? Thank you for
coming, Miguel. (Applause.)

You know, there's a lot of talk in
Washington about making sure we have diversity on our courts, and there
should be. I ask the Senate to move this man's nomination
through. He's smart, he's capable, he needs that job --
America needs to have him on the bench. Get him moving,
before it's too late. (Applause.)

Ambassador to the OAS representing
America, Roger Noriega. There he is -- Roger. How
are you? (Applause.) The next time we'll try to
get you a better seat. (Laughter.) Either that,
or show up on time. (Laughter and applause.)

Al Rascon, who is the National Director of
the U.S. Selective Service and, more importantly, a recipient of the
Medal of Honor, is with us today. Thank you, Al, for being
here. (Applause.)

A man whose service has been called upon a
lot, particularly for the businesses that were severely affected during
the attack, Hector Barreto, the SBA
Director. (Applause.) Leslie Sanchez, who is the
Executive Director to the White House Initiative on Educational
Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Where are you,
Leslie? Leslie, right in front of me. (Applause.)

The Treasurer of the United States,
Rosario Marin -- Rosario. (Applause.) Cristina Saralegui
(phonetic) -- where is she? Cristina. (Applause.)

As you know, I used to be associated with
the baseball world. And we're honored to have some Major
Leaguers here with us today. And we've got a great White Sox
outfielder. ¿Donde está Señor Ordoñez from the White
Sox? There he is. ¿Coma está,
Magglio? Welcome. (Applause.) Glad
you're here.

Another Ordoñez, Ray
Ordoñez. Good to see you, Ray. Thank you for
coming. Maybe next year. (Applause.)

Nelson Figueroa de la
Phillies. Good to see you, Nelson. Thank you for
coming. (Applause.) I'll get you
afterwards. And from the San Francisco Giants, Russ
Ortiz. Russ, thank you for coming. (Applause.)
I'm honored you all are here. Thanks for coming, thanks for
setting a good example. Thanks for understanding that people
look at you off the field of play, as well as on the field of
play. It's important that there be young boys and girls look
up to our baseball players and see a good example, and you're setting
that. We're honored that you're here with us.

We also have three with us today who
represent the thousands of Hispanic Americans who serve in law
enforcement and public safety. It's been a particularly
trying time in New York City for the fire fighters and police
officers.

Fortunately, we have three gentlemen today
who represent those fine men and women. Anthony Miranda of
the New York City Latino Officers Association. Anthony,
thank you for coming. (Applause.)

Let me try this a different
way. (Laughter.) We have two others to
introduce. (Laughter.) From the Hispanic Society
of the New York City Police Department, we've got Luis Hernandez and --
(laughter) -- from the Hispanic Society of the New York City Fire
Department, Miguel Ramos. Now, thank you all for
coming. (Applause.)

It is clear America is pulling for you
all. And please pass on the word to the men and women who
wear the uniform how proud we are and how much we mourn with you, and
how heroic you have been. The nation appreciates it very
much.

You know, obviously this is a time of
great national unity. The evil ones struck, but they forgot
who they were striking, evidently. They thought they were
going to weaken us, but they didn't. We're strong and
united. I've been amazed by the incredible acts of kindness
that I've heard about. And, obviously, we've all been
impressed by the acts of heroism. This is the good news that
has come during this tragedy. We've all come to realize how
much we need each other.

Today, there's been another reported case
of anthrax in New York City at NBC News. And it has got to
cause concern for our nation. But I want everybody in the
country to know we're responding rapidly. First of all, the
person is feeling fine. She's doing well. She
obviously didn't ingest enough to cause death, thank
God. But we've got teams on the ground. The CDC,
Center for Disease Control, the FBI, working closely with local
agencies to respond quickly.

Our nation is still in
danger. But the government is doing everything in our power
to protect our citizenry. We need each other more than ever,
and we're responding as quickly and as forcefully as we can.

The American people need to go about their
lives. We cannot let the terrorists lock our country
down. We can't let terrorists, a few evildoers, hold us
hostage. Our government will fight terrorism across the seas
and we'll fight it here at home. And the American people
need to fight terrorism as well by going to work, going to ball games,
getting on airplanes, singing with joy and strength, like you all did
today. They will not take this
country down. (Applause.)

We will not be cowed, and we're certainly
not going to be divided. The evil ones, as well as the rest of the
world, are learning that we're a nation made up of many cultures, many
races and many religions. But we are one strong nation.

We've suffered loss together, we have
entered a mighty struggle together, and we will prevail
together. The diversity of America has always been, always
been, a great strength of this country. Here, you can be
proud of your cultural heritage, proud of your ancestry, proud of your
native language, and still be a proud American. (Applause.)

We see the spirit of pride today, most
vividly in the ties between our country and los que viven en Latin
America -- y tambien el sur de America. A lifetime in Texas has given
me many things to be thankful for. One of them, for certain,
is my appreciation for the Hispanic culture.

I realize how much the Hispanic culture
has enriched my state. And I realize how much the Hispanic
culture enriches my nation, as well. (Applause.)

This month, our country recognizes just
how much we owe to the Hispanic culture and, more important, to the
Hispanic Americans we're proud to call our fellow
citizens. And we do so -- as we do so, we recognize as well
our obligation to ensure that every American has an equal place in our
society, from the earliest years in life.

This nation of immigrant heritage believes
that all children, whatever their circumstances, deserve a chance to
learn, and rise, and succeed. This principle has guided my education
reforms as we work to raise the standards of public schools across
America and bring hope to every classroom for every child -- I mean
every child, not just a few, not just those whose parents may speak
English. We want educational excellence para todos que viven
in este país. (Applause.)

So today, I am creating a commission to
help chart the path to greater achievement amongst Hispanic-American
students in every part of our country. I am pleased to sign
this order in front of such distinguished company. And I'm
proud -- I'm proud -- to be the President of such a great nation.